TNRM at Geylang Lor 37

On Sunday we did our last TNRM project for August at Geylang Lorong 37. We trapped a total of 8 cats for neutering and they returned to their respective territories this afternoon.

At the first micro-site we started trapping, there were 3 cats, one of whom is already neutered by our Sterilisation Volunteer some time ago on her own.

Neutered cat named Alley

We also trapped a black and white cat, and we were also very happy because we sighted the elusive ginger male cat that evening!

Elusive ginger cat approaching trap

Hungry because as per protocol he was not fed that day

Yay for hungry cats! He entered trap safely eventually

Then we headed to the residential building micro-site, where there is a small garden behind it. It was a bit of a problem there at first because there were some prayer food offerings on the grass and cats were hungrily eating it. Cats that are already not hungry are very hard to trap so we had to throw the food scraps away.

There are 3 tabbies and 1 black cat at this site. One of the tabbies is still nursing kittens which were nowhere to be found but she definitely gave birth 2-3 weeks ago. So we fed her while we trapped the others.

4 cats at this building

3 tabbies, 1 still nursing

Fed the nursing tabby away from the other cats while we trapped

The cats here are really friendly, all could be handled, stroked and therefore could just be lifted up by scruff into carriers. Of course, we had our secret weapon -

Fussie Cat makes these cats come to us...

The cats here liked us a lot even though we weren't their feeders.

Blackie came to us happily (secret weapon!)

The cats sniffing our kick-scooters

We reciprocated the cats' affection with a lot of strokes and Fussie Cat before putting them into carriers. We also took random photos of them because we really like this bunch of kitties!

Blackie with a bit of trash stuck to his head!

Because he was rummaging in trash that was dumped!

Hunter-like tabby...

...with super nice tabby markings

Next we headed to the third micro-site which is near Lorong 39.

2 cats hiding under a car when we arrived

When this cat came out, the cat feeder put it in a carrier. Cooperative cat!

This guy took a while. Had to re-route human traffic while waiting on him

He is finally successfully trapped!

This kitten is mature for neuter so we trapped her too

Has unique grey markings on back, pretty!

This cat is already too pregnant to neuter, so we had to skip her

This cat is a neutered house cat. Allowed to roam, to our chagrin

So here are the mugshots of the 8 cats we trapped from this location that day!

Ginger

Black/white

Black

Tabby

Tabby

Tabby/white

Black/white/grey

Total cost was $385, including Damy's transport and trapping cost of $70 and $5 per cat for pre- and post- surgery boarding. We haven't gotten the hard copies of the bills yet so they aren't scanned and posted in this post.

That concludes August! We neutered 21 stray cats this month. If we include our foster kittens, that's 3 more to the number paid out of our Sterilisation Fund. We are now investigating new TNRM projects for September. Thank you all for your support!

Next TNRM project - this Sunday - Geylang Lor 37

Our last TNRM for August! We are looking at a population of about close to 10 cats at Geylang Lor 37, in 3 micro-sites. One round of trapping will suffice to get the cats neutered. We will be going down to do the trapping this Sunday at 5pm. Here is more information on the project.

3 micro-sites of the Geylang Lor 37  cat population

First micro-site - Block 681. There are 4 cats here but 1 cat is nursing so we will be trapping the other 3 instead. The cats are docile and the residents at this block - a privately owned building occupied mainly by foreigners - have been leaving out food and water for the cats.

The cats at Blk 681

Second micro-site, 725 - a back alley. 3 cats reside here. One was nursing during the time of recce but should have finished lactating by this Sunday.

Front, female cat, back, male cat

Ginger male who has an erratic roaming pattern

We may not be able to trap the ginger cat that day because his roaming territory is very large and he doesn't always show up during feeding time.

Third micro-site: a back alley near Palm Lodge where there is also a private house used by what we suspect is a recycling business. There are 3 cats here.

One cat is allowed inside the house

One of the cats in the back alley

A tuxedo cat also living in back alley

Most of the cats here living among scraps

We are excited to make a difference for this colony of cats this Sunday!

Fundraising Appeal

We sincerely need financial help with 3 of our Funds - Boarding, Ops, and Vet.

As of 21 August 2011 here are the balances of our Partition Funds:

Veterinary Fund - $158.40
Sterilisation Fund -  $752.20
Boarding Fund - $(-94.62)
Operations Fund - $17.75

Our most urgent need is our Boarding Fund which is already in deficit, followed by our Operations Fund which will only at this current level pay for about 2-3 taxi trips to the vet and that is only but one of the many functions of the Ops Fund. Our Veterinary Fund needs to be higher than the above-shown level because in the event of an emergency or disease outbreak we need to have the reserves to not withhold veterinary attention to our foster cats that we cannot provide for ourselves.

Our other main income stream for the abovementioned funds - adoption fees - is greatly affected this month because August is historically a very bad month for adoptions.


So we really need your help.



How you can help:

1. We need financial contributions to the Boarding and Operations Funds. Make a deposit to our bank account POSB savings 188-52652-7 and SMS / email Elaine at 90880675 / elaine@lovekuchingproject.org to indicate which fund you are giving to.
2. We need food, specifically canned food. You can donate canned food to us at charity rates via our corporate sponsor The Water Dish's bundles. The bundle we most urgently need right now is Bundle D.
3. We need more sponsors for our Sponsor-A-LoveKuching-Cat Scheme. All sponsorship contributions go directly to our Veterinary Fund. Click the link to find out how to become a sponsor. 

No amount is too small to give. Do also help us spread the word so that more people will have the opportunity to give. We appreciate you all and thank you in advance for your help.

Adopt Ellis

Ellis at 24 weeks old, taken by Furry Photos


One of the Whiteys is ready for adoption! It has been a long journey of rehabilitation for the Whiteys - with their initial multiple sicknesses when first found abandoned at 10 weeks old.

After they recovered and were off their antibiotics for about a week or so, they were sent for their first booster vaccinations. During the vet check our vet Dr Dawn Chong noted that the Whiteys were having teary eyes - nothing viral but needed to be tended to with saline irrigation and cleaning. Subsequently, Ellis recovered from her teary eyes first.

(As for the rest: Napolean, Emma and Princess are still having teary eyes which are clearing up slowly but surely, and Aryan is sneezy, an effect from vaccination which should clear up soon. We don't place kittens on Adoption Alert until they are completely rehabilitated.)

We knew all along she was a very cooperative, vocal and independent girl. But we also discovered she is a hardcore couch cat! -

Her distinctive grey markings, like centre-parted hair

Super alert ever ready for a conversation

Enjoying a catnap on the couch

OK she really really likes the couch

Ellis has a unique style of being affectionate with humans. She doesn't cover us with kisses like her new BFF Echo, or Winky. She likes to talk, and lick us. A lot. And follow us around especially when food and conversation are involved, rubbing herself between our legs and purring. Like in this video (taken before her teary eyes cleared up) -




Ellis also gets along with other kittens, though she prefers to hang out or do her 'rounds' alone, sometimes scolding them if they disturb her while she is doing her own agenda, and occasionally sleeping next to Echo. She is respectful of older cats too. She is responsive to discipline about house rules - no jumping on foster lounge table etc. and is food-motivated (she likes human Elaine more because that's her 'food source'!). She is very cooperative with medication and grooming; can be carried any which way, though she doesn't really enjoy hugs for long periods of time.

To adopt Ellis, see right side bar under 'How to adopt' or click here to find out how.

Echo-pics!

Here are the latest pics of our special girl Echo who is still looking for a forever home!

Sleeping on our kitchen chair

Showing off her 'highlights' shyly

"Wassup humans we be lounging on OUR chairs."

"No you cannot make handbag out of my coat."

Echo's tortoiseshell colouring is becoming more beautiful as she grows older, with the golden parts really reflecting the sunlight. And she is still the super manja kitten - loves loves loves to rub against us and purr.

She has recovered well from her neutering surgery last week and is currently 26 weeks old. Vaccinated, vet-checked, neutered, litter trained, house trained.

If you would like to adopt Echo - a special girl who needs a family to see beyond her squinty eye - do see right side bar under 'How to adopt' or click here to find out how.

Update on the Frenchies

Marcel, Chanel and Jaimie

The 3 kittens rescued from French Road have not been improving in their health - diarrhoea is still very much on, all of them.

At first, Chanel was puking and having diarrhoea as well, so we brought her to test for parvo (feline panleukopenia). It was negative. So we placed the 3 of them on Metrogyl, a long course, about 10 days. No improvement. We stopped the antibiotics to give their immune systems a rest for a few days. We then got the clinic to do a fecal culture to lab test on their poo to identify or eliminate the various bacteria that could be causing their diarrhoea. They tested negative on salmonella and E.coli, among others. Meanwhile, we also tried another antibiotic on them, Bactrim, for 5 days. No change in their poo. Another rest from antibiotics for the kitties by stopping Bactrim. After brainstorming with our vet, we tried treating them with Metrogyl combined with fenbadazole (a dewormer that flushes out an entire colony of gastro-intestinal worms, and also treats giardia, another bacteria that causes diarrhoea). It is a treatment for severe giardiasis. 5 days later, still no improvement.

Meanwhile, a lot of stress in our foster home. Daily litter box cleaning. Cleaning their cage often and the surrounding areas with bleach. Syringing Chanel with supplements because she doesn't want to eat the canned food with the supplements inside. Medicating them with medications that they hate, twice a day, with much spitting, drooling and scratching.

We brainstormed again with our vet today over the phone after reporting to her their condition, and are now going to try Baytril antibiotics tomorrow to treat for another strain of gastro-intestinal bacteria, campylobacter, which is acquired through eating spoiled food like how many other bacteria is transmitted - the Frenchies were fed food scraps before rescue.

Crossing our fingers that this time around the medical regime will work. Treating gastro-intestinal bacterial infections is really tricky because it is hard to identify the specific bacterial strain causing the infection, and each bacteria needs a different antibiotic to kill. If Baytril doesn't work, it means another bacteria is the cause, and their treatment will be further lengthened.

In the meantime, they are still very manja and getting active, eating and drinking well. Just pooping Nutella-like poop that stresses our litter box cleaner Andy everyday. When Chanel was at the vet for the fecal culture, she charmed all the staff at the clinic. These 3 will definitely make great pet cats when they get well!

Will update again when they get better!